After-effects of job-related stress: Families as victims

In recent years, the unique stress experienced by those who do ‘people work’ has been acknowledged by the helping professions as a widespread problem and has been recognized by social scientists as a topic requiring systematic research. This paper begins by briefly reviewing research on the type of job stress experienced by workers in the helping professions. Then, a study of 142 police couples is reported, illustrating the effects of job stress on family life. In a survey study, police officers and their wives described family interactions. Officers who were experiencing stress, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, were more likely to display anger, spend time off away from the family, be uninvolved in family matters, and to have unsatisfactory marriages. An examination of the coping patterns used to deal with the stress of police work highlights differences between coping strategies used by husbands versus wives.     

Determinants of salaries earned: Comparisons of black and white healthcare managers

We develop and test a model of salaries attained for four groups of healthcare executives: white males (n=216); black males (n=124), white females (n=249) and black females (n=139). We show that blacks are not earning as much as whites and that females of either race are earning less than males. Three sets of predictors are evaluated: individual achievements; access to employment by certain types of healthcare organizations; and treatment within the employing organization. Individual attainments, such as years of experience, predict higher salaries in all four groups. Only black males benefit from having taken a specialized degree in healthcare management. Also, supervision of whites within the employing organization raises the salaries of all groups except white females. Hospital employment, and private-sector employment play only an indirect role in salaries achieved by blacks in this 1991 survey.     

Exposure to the sobriety "Checkpoint Strikeforce" campaign in Maryland: impact on driver perceptions of vulnerability and behavior

OBJECTIVES: To compare drivers who were: (1) exposed to Maryland's sobriety "Checkpoint Strikeforce" campaign; (2) not exposed but were aware of it; and (3) neither exposed nor aware of it. This six-month campaign involved periodic road-side sobriety checkpoints, in which police attempted to detect and arrest drunk drivers and a series of radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that promoted public awareness. METHODS: A statewide sample of 1725 drivers were interviewed by telephone to determine their exposure to and awareness of this campaign, as well as their beliefs and behaviors concerning drunk driving and seat belt usage. RESULTS: Relatively few people (9.6%) were exposed in any way to the campaign; however almost 30% were aware of it. Significant increases in perceived vulnerability to arrest for drinking and driving were found among those who were exposed. There were no differences in reported drinking and driving, but seat belt usage in the last 30 days was higher among those who were exposed. There were no differences among those people who had been directly exposed to the campaign (i.e., personally gone through a sobriety checkpoint) and those who were indirectly exposed (i.e., knew a family member or someone else who went through a checkpoint). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to a sobriety checkpoint was associated with increased perceptions of drink-driving risk (i.e., likelihood of getting caught by the police), which was not dependent upon having personally experienced it. Awareness without exposure appears to be insufficient to change perceived risk. The need to increase the reach and frequency of the sobriety "Checkpoint Strikeforce" campaign is indicated.     

Physical,psychological and economic burden of two-wheel users after a road traffic injury: Evidence from intensive care units of three EU countries

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the physical, psychological, and economic burden shouldered by severely injured two-wheel users in three European countries as well as the cost resulting from their hospitalization. Methods: A total of seven public hospitals were involved in three countries: Greece, Italy, and Germany. Participants enrolled during a 12-month period starting in April 2013. Eligibility criteria included an injury sustained at Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) irrespective of the type of vehicle, hospitalization 1 day in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or sub-ICU, and age 18 years or over. Patients were interviewed at 1, 6, and 12 months upon admission. The study used widely recommended classifications for injury severity (Abbreviated Injury Severity [AIS]; Maximum Abbreviated Injury Severity [MAIS]) and standardized measures such as the Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS 2.0), “Impact of Event Scale” (IES-R), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D Scale). Health Care Expenditure was assessed through the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC's) framework, which included measures of ‘Direct’ and ‘Indirect’ costs. Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) were used to estimate hospitalization costs. Results: A total of 54 two-wheel users enrolled in the study in all the countries and 32 completed all follow-up questionnaires. Physical disability increased over 12 months following the injury. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms of avoidance remained at high levels over the study period. PTSD symptoms of intrusion improved significantly during the second half of the year under investigation. The total annual cost of injury for the two-wheel users who were hospitalized in the selected ICU of all the partner countries for severe injury in 2013/2014, was estimated at €714,491 made up of €123,457 direct and €591,034 indirect costs. Men, aged 50–64 years and those who sustained slight injuries primarily at the lower extremities presented higher indirect costs per person. A total of €1032.092 was spent on hospitalization payments. Women, aged 65 + and those who sustained severe injuries at the central body region presented higher direct costs per person. Women, aged 50–64 years, those with severe injuries and a major injury at the central body and the upper body region presented the highest hospitalization costs per person. Conclusions: There is a need for effective strategies to early detect and treat groups at risk of being confronted with prolonged psychosocial and economic consequences. Practical implications: A holistic understanding of the impact of injury on individuals is important in order to achieve effective treatment of psychological co-morbidities in a timely manner.     

Job and industry fit: the effects of age and gender matches on career progress outcomes

Using a sample of 232 MBA alumni, we tested the impact of respondent age, gender, and their interaction on career progress outcomes (managerial level, number of promotions, and salary) and whether age‐ and gender‐type of contexts moderated these relationships. Women's salaries did not increase much with age, whereas men's salaries showed a marked increase with age. We also found a gender × job gender‐type effect on salary, such that women earned somewhat higher salaries in masculine‐typed jobs, while men earned considerably higher salaries in feminine‐typed jobs. In addition, we observed a three‐way interaction between gender, age, and age‐type of industry indicating that younger men received more promotions in old‐typed industries, while younger women received more promotions in young‐typed ones. Results are discussed in light of cognitive matching approaches and status characteristics theory. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices of occupational risks in Colombian taxi drivers

Objective. The objective of this study was to learn about the health and safety strategies in a sample of taxi drivers in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 138 taxi drivers. A survey was used to identify the socio-demographic and working characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and practices according to their occupational risk. Results. Eighty-five percent of the workers labored 9–15?h/day. Of those who suffered accidents, 27% were not affiliated to an occupational risk administrator (p = 0.028). Of the workers who had a work-related accident, 58% considered that the use of a cell phone while driving would not always reduce their attention, 50% always used their seat belt and 7% took active breaks and wore their seat belt (p = 0.01). Conclusions. Within this group of taxi drivers, having or believing to possess knowledge regarding an occupational risk did not ensure that they had a safe attitude or safe working practices.     

Innovations and personal change: Patterns of adjustment to relocation

The aim of the study was to test hypotheses derived from Nicholson's (1984) theory of work-role transitions within the context of job relocation. These hypotheses concern the adjustment strategies used by those changing jobs. A total of 121 U.K. employees provided data at three points in time during the process of their relocation. Measures included job characteristics, personal change, role innovation, self-esteem and subjective well-being. Data were analysed via non-recursive structural equation models using LISREL VI. Results were generally consistent with the model of work-role transitions. Individual differences in self-esteem were found to influence adjustment strategies over and above the effects of job characteristics.     

The customer is not always right: customer aggression and emotion regulation of service employees

Research on work aggression or anger has typically focused on supervisors and co‐workers as the instigators of aggression; however, aggressive customers are also likely and may have unique consequences for the employee. We explore this phenomenon with a sample of 198 call center employees at two work sites. The employees reported that customer verbal aggression occurred 10 times a day, on average, though this varied by race and negative affectivity. Using LISREL, our data indicated that both the frequency and stress appraisal of customer aggression positively related to emotional exhaustion, and this burnout dimension mediated the relationship of stress appraisal with absences. Stress appraisal also influenced employees' emotion regulation strategies with their most recent hostile caller. Employees who felt more threatened by customer aggression used surface acting or vented emotions, while those who were less threatened used deep acting. Job autonomy helped explain who found these events more stressful, and implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of proximal and distal goals on performance on a moderately complex task

The effect of a proximal plus a distal goal was investigated relative to setting only a distal goal or urging participants to do their best. Young adults (N=39) were paid on a piece rate basis to make toys. An analysis of variance revealed that the amount of money earned by the participants who were urged to ‘do your best’ was significantly greater than the amount of money earned by the participants who were assigned a distal goal. However, the amount of money earned by the participants who were assigned proximal goals, in addition to a distal goal, was significantly greater than the amount of money earned by the participants in the ‘do your best’ condition. The correlation between perceived self‐efficacy and the amount of money earned was 0.45 (p<0.01). Perceived self‐efficacy significantly increased only for those participants in the proximal plus distal goal condition. Proximal goals, through self‐efficacy and performance feedback, appear to have focused attention on task appropriate strategies. The results suggest an informational explanation of proximal goals as opposed to a motivational one through goal commitment. Implications of these findings for mentoring and training are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When are overqualified employees creative? It depends on contextual factors

The research on perceived overqualification has mainly examined its negative consequences. Defined, employees who feel overqualified have surplus talent and thus can be excellent workers if managed properly; yet, empirical evidence in this domain is lacking. Building on person–environment fit theory, this research explored whether, when, and how employees who feel overqualified can engage in creative performance. The results of a multi‐source field study (N = 113 employees and 19 supervisors) supported theoretical predictions. Perceived overqualification was related positively to supervisor‐rated creative performance when these workers felt supported and appreciated and successfully negotiated developmental idiosyncratic deals. Opportunities to mentor others had an impact on the relationship between perceived overqualification and supervisor‐rated creativity, although the simple slopes were non‐significant. This study is novel in that it unpacked actionable steps that organizations can utilize to motivate this large segment of workforce to use their surplus qualifications constructively by, for example, engaging in creative performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thought self-leadership: the impact of mental strategies training on employee cognition,behavior, and affect

Thought self-leadership involves employee self-influence through cognitive strategies that focus on individual self-dialogue, mental imagery, beliefs and assumptions, and thought patterns. A training intervention-based field study with a control group was undertaken to empirically examine the applicability of thought self-leadership in an organizational setting (of bankruptcy financial status), and the potential for cognitions to be self-controlled. Results suggested that individuals who received the thought self-leadership training experienced increased mental performance, positive affect (enthusiasm), job satisfaction, and decreased negative affect (nervousness) relative to those not receiving the training. Additionally, the trainees reported a strong and positive reaction to the training. Finally, those who received the training experienced enhanced perceptions of self-efficacy and more optimistic perceptions of the organization's bankruptcy condition than those not receiving the training.     

Thinking,feeling and deciding: The influence of emotions on the decision making and performance of traders

We report on a qualitative investigation of the influence of emotions on the decision making of traders in four City of London investment banks, a setting where work has been predominantly theorized as dominated by rational analysis. We conclude that emotions and their regulation play a central role in traders' decision making. We find differences between high and low performing traders in how they engage with their intuitions, and that different strategies for emotion regulation have material consequences for trader behavior and performance. Traders deploying antecedent‐focused emotional regulation strategies achieve a performance advantage over those employing primarily response‐focused strategies. We argue that, in particular, response‐focused approaches incur a performance penalty, in part because of the reduced opportunity to combine analysis with the use of affective cues in making intuitive judgments. We discuss the implications for our understanding of emotion and decision making, and for traders' practice. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preferred modes of travel among older adults: What factors affect the choice to walk instead of drive?

Introduction

There are many factors that influence older adults' travel choices. This paper explores the associations between mode of travel choice for a short trip and older adults' personal characteristics.

Methods

This study included 406 drivers over the age of 64 who were enrolled in a large integrated health plan in the United States between 1991 and 2001. Bivariate analyses and generalized linear modeling were used to examine associations between choosing to walk or drive and respondents' self-reported general health, physical and functional abilities, and confidence in walking and driving.

Results

Having more confidence in their ability to walk versus drive increased an older adult's likelihood of walking to make a short trip by about 20% (PR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.06-1.40), and walking for exercise increased the likelihood by about 50% (PR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.22-1.91). Reporting fair or poor health decreased the likelihood of walking, as did cutting down on the amount of driving due to a physical problem.

Discussion

Factors affecting a person's decision to walk for exercise may not be the same as those that influence their decision to walk as a mode of travel. It is important to understand the barriers to walking for exercise and walking for travel to develop strategies to help older adults meet both their exercise and mobility needs. Impact on Industry: Increasing walking over driving among older adults may require programs that increase confidence in walking and encourage walking for exercise.     

Airmen with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) at increased risk for subsequent mishaps

BackgroundLittle is known regarding long-term performance decrements associated with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). The goal of this study was to determine if individuals with an mTBI may be at increased risk for subsequent mishaps.MethodsCox proportional hazards modeling was utilized to calculate hazard ratios for 518,958 active duty U.S. Air Force service members (Airmen) while controlling for varying lengths of follow-up and potentially confounding variables. Two non-mTBI comparison groups were used; the second being a subset of the original, both without head injuries two years prior to study entrance.ResultsHazard ratios indicate that the causes of increased risk associated with mTBI do not resolve quickly. Additionally, outpatient mTBI injuries do not differ from other outpatient bodily injuries in terms of subsequent injury risk.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that increased risk for subsequent mishaps are likely due to differences shared among individuals with any type of injury, including risk-taking behaviors, occupations, and differential participation in sports activities. Therefore, individuals who sustain an mTBI or injury have a long-term risk of additional mishaps.Practical applicationsDifferences shared among those who seek medical care for injuries may include risk-taking behaviors (Cherpitel, 1999, Turner and McClure, 2004, Turner et al., 2004), occupations, and differential participation in sports activities, among others. Individuals with an mTBI should be educated that they are at risk for subsequent injury. Historical data supported no lingering effects of mTBI, but more recent data suggest longer lasting effects. This study further adds that one of the longer term sequelae of mTBI may be an increased risk for subsequent mishap.     

The relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC), age, and crash risk

PROBLEM: The role of age (youth and driving inexperience) and alcohol as major risk factors in traffic crash causation has been firmly established by numerous studies over the past 50 years. Less well established is how the two variables interrelate to influence crash risk. Some investigations have hypothesized an interactive or synergistic effect in which young drivers with less experience and a greater tendency to take risks are more adversely affected at lower blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) than are older drivers. The evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. Resolution of this issue has important implication for developing countermeasures directed at the young driver crash problem. METHOD: Case control data previously collected in Long Beach and Fort Lauderdale were reanalyzed using a more sensitive method for detecting interaction effects than used in the original analysis. A conditional logistic regression analyses found a highly significant agexBAC interaction (P<.0001) involving differences between drivers under 21 and those 21 and older. DISCUSSION: The results clearly indicate that positive BACs in drivers under 21 are associated with higher relative crash risks than would be predicted from the additive effect of BAC and age. It is likely that two mechanisms are operating to cause the interaction. First, it seems likely that the crash avoidance skill of young novice drivers would be more adversely affected by alcohol due to their driving inexperience, immaturity, and less experience with alcohol. Second, drivers under 21 who choose to drink and to drive after drinking probably have pre-existing characteristics that predisposed them to risk taking and crash involvement apart from any increased vulnerability to alcohol impairment. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results support increased enforcement of zero-tolerance BAC laws for minors.     

Deriving heart rate variability indices from cardiac monitoring—An indicator of driver sleepiness

Objective: Driver fatigue is considered to be a major contributor to road traffic crashes. Cardiac monitoring and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a candidate method for early and accurate detection of driver sleepiness. This study has 2 objectives: to evaluate the (1) suitability of different preprocessing strategies for detecting and removing outlier heartbeats and spectral transformation of HRV signals and their impact of driver sleepiness assessment and (2) relation between common HRV indices and subjective sleepiness reported by a large number of drivers in real driving situations, for the first time.

Methods: The study analyzed >3,500 5-min driving epochs from 76 drivers on a public motorway in Sweden. The electrocardiograph (ECG) data were recorded in 3 studies designed to evaluate the physiological differences between awake and sleepy drivers. The drivers reported their perceived level of sleepiness according to the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) every 5?min. Two standard methods were used for identifying outlier heartbeats: (1) percentage change (PC), where outliers were defined as interbeat intervals deviating >30% from the mean of the four previous intervals and (2) standard deviation (SD), where outliers were defined as interbeat interval deviating >4 SD from the mean interval duration in the current epoch. Three standard methods were used for spectral transformation, which is needed for deriving HRV indices in the frequency domain: (1) Fourier transform; (2) autoregressive model; and (3) Lomb-Scargle periodogram. Different preprocessing strategies were compared regarding their impact on derivation of common HRV indices and their relation to KSS data distribution, using box plots and statistical tests such as analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student’s t test.

Results: The ability of HRV indices to discriminate between alert and sleepy drivers does not differ significantly depending on which outlier detection and spectral transformation methods are used. As expected, with increasing sleepiness, the heart rate decreased, whereas heart rate variability overall increased. Furthermore, HRV parameters representing the parasympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system increased. An unexpected finding was that parameters representing the sympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system also increased with increasing KSS level. We hypothesize that this increment was due to stress induced by trying to avoid an incident, because the drivers were in real driving situations.

Conclusions: The association of HRV indices to KSS did not depend on the preprocessing strategy. No preprocessing method showed superiority for HRV association to driver sleepiness. This was also true for combinations of methods for frequency domain HRV indices. The results prove clear relationships between HRV indices and perceived sleepiness. Thus, HRV analysis shows promise for driver sleepiness detection.     

Implementing risk management to reduce injuries in the U.S. Fire Service

IntroductionRisk management, a proactive process to identify and mitigate potential injury risks and implement control strategies, was used to reduce the risk of occupational injury in a fire department. The objective of this research was to study the implementation of the risk management process for future replication. A second objective was to document changes in fire personnel's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to the selected control strategies that were implemented as part of the risk management process.MethodA number of control strategies identified through the risk management process were implemented over a 2-year period beginning in January 2011. Approximately 450 fire personnel completed each of the three cross-sectional surveys that were administered throughout the implementation periods. Fire personnel were asked about their awareness, knowledge, and use of the control strategies.ResultsFire personnel were generally aware of the control strategies that were implemented. Visual reminders (e.g., signage) were noted as effective by fire personnel who noticed them. Barriers to use of specific control strategies such as new procedures on the fireground or new lifting equipment for patient transfer included lack of knowledge of the new protocols, lack of awareness/access to/availability of the new equipment, and limited training on its use. Implementation challenges were noted, which limited self-reported adherence to the control strategies.ConclusionsFire personnel generally recognized the potential for various control strategies to manage risk and improve their health and safety; however, implementation challenges limited the effectiveness of certain control strategies. The study findings support the importance of effective implementation to achieve the desired impacts of control strategies for improving health and safety.Practical applicationsEmployees must be aware of, have knowledge about, and receive training in safety and health interventions in order to adopt desired behaviors.     

Analysis of bicycle crashes in Sweden involving injuries with high risk of health loss

Objective: The objectives of the present article were to (a) describe the main characteristics of bicycle crashes with regard to the road environment, crash opponent, cyclist, and crash dynamics; (b) compare individuals who describe their health after the crash as declined with those who describe their health as not affected; and (c) compare the number of injured cyclists who describe their health as declined after the crash with the predicted number of permanent medical impairments within the same population.

Methods: A sample of individuals with specific injury diagnoses was drawn from the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA) database (n?=?2,678). A survey form was used to collect additional information about the crash and the health-related outcomes. The predicted number of impaired individuals was calculated by accumulating the risk for all individuals to sustain at least a 1% permanent medical impairment, based on the injured body region and injury severity.

Results: Nine hundred forty-seven individuals (36%) responded, of whom 44% reported declined health after the crash. The majority (68%) were injured in single bicycle crashes, 17% in collisions with motor vehicles, and 11% in collisions with another cyclist or pedestrian. Most single bicycle crashes related to loss of control (46%), mainly due to skidding on winter surface conditions (14%), followed by loss of control during braking (6%). There was no significant difference in crash distribution comparing all crashes with crashes among people with declined health. The predicted number of impaired individuals (n?=?427) corresponded well with the number of individuals self-reporting declined health (n?=?421).

Conclusions: The types of crashes leading to health loss do not substantially differ from those that do not result in health loss. Two thirds of injuries leading to health loss occur in single bicycle crashes. In addition to separating cyclists from motorized traffic, other preventive strategies are needed.     

A safety self-management intervention for mining operations

PROBLEM: This quasi-experimental field study examined the efficacy of a safety self-management process to increase safety-related work practices in mining operations. METHODS: After a 7-week baseline, 15 miners participated in a safety self-management training and education presentation. The participants in a prebehavior condition (n=8) recorded their intentions to engage in specific percentages of safety-related work behaviors before starting their shift for the day. In contrast, participants in a postbehavior condition (n=7) recorded their percentages of safety-related work behaviors after their shift for the day. RESULTS: During withdrawal (4 weeks), the miners did not complete any self-monitoring forms. Based on 10,905 behavioral observations, safety self-management was effective at increasing the frequency of safety-related behavior (p<.05). For the prebehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 34.8% during intervention. Similarly, in the postbehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 40.1% during intervention. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results suggest that employees who work in relative isolation or have little oversight, compared to traditional industrial workers, may benefit from a process by which they can systematically observe themselves.